Brown Et Al 2016 Cleangenes

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Brown Et Al 2016 Cleangenes Freshwater Crayfish 22(1):43–51, 2016 RESEARCH ARTICLE ISSN: 2076-4324 (Print), 2076-4332 (Online) https://doi.org/10.5869/fc.2016.v22-1.43 Ectosymbiotic Cleaners Induce Down-regulation of Crayfish Immune Response Genes BRYAN L. BROWN,1,* MATTHEW TURNBULL,2 JAMES SKELTON 3,5 AND ROBERT P. CREED 4 1 Department of Biological Sciences, 2105 Derring Hall, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA. *Corresponding Author.— [email protected] 2 Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631 USA. 3 School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL 32601 USA. 4 Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28607 USA 5 Current Address: School of Forest Resources, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32601 USA. ABSTRACT ARTICLE INFO Recent studies have revealed integral and complex relationships between hosts and their symbionts. Article History: Submitted: 02 JUL 2016 Some of these findings demonstrate that symbionts can affect the gene expression of their hosts. Accepted: 15 DEC 2016 We used a model cleaning symbiosis system of crayfish and their branchiobdellidan symbionts to Published Online: 31 DEC 2016 examine whether symbionts could affect host gene expression through indirect means, by changing the Published Print: 31 DEC 2016 interaction of the host crayfish with the environment. Previous research has shown this symbiosis to Keywords: be a complex, context dependent relationship in which outcomes can shift between mutualism, when crayfish; branchiobdellidans act as cleaners of their hosts, and parasitism, when damage to hosts’ gills through branchiobdellidan; branchiobdellidan feeding produces negative effects. These shifts are known to occur with changes in symbiosis; gene expression; symbiont densities and environmental conditions. We manipulated densities of branchiobdellidans on mutualism; host crayfish and examined the effect on expression of 3 candidate immune genes. We had 2 competing cleaning symbiosis; working hypotheses: 1) That branchiobdellidans would cause an increase expression in immune genes because of damage to the hosts’ gills; and 2) That branchiobdellidans would decrease expression of immune genes by acting as cleaners and thus alleviating environmental stress. We found that the second hypothesis was strongly supported when branchiobdellidan activity decreased expression in 2 of the 3 candidate genes. One of these genes (astacidin) is related to generalized immune defense, while the other (prophenoloxidase) is a key part of the melanization cascade that provides defense in the case of physical damage and intrusion of microbes or foreign bodies. Given that there is no known mechanism through which branchiobdellidans can directly affect host physiology through chemical or genetic interactions, we concluded that this alteration in gene expression occurred through alleviation of environmental stress by the symbionts. Such indirect effects may be common in nature and continued study using easily manipulated systems like the crayfish-branchiobdellidan symbiosis may continue to produce insights regarding the importance of symbioses in ecological systems. Copyright © 2016 by The Author(s). Published by the International Association of Astacology. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. INTRODUCTION our early Egyptian pioneers would have ever imagined. We now The more we know about symbiosis, the more we appreciate know that symbionts can exert truly astonishing effects on their the ubiquity and importance of symbiotic interactions. While the hosts. Some of these relationships are quite complicated and even study of symbiosis dates back at least to the ancient Egyptians who bizarre, like fungi and parasitic worms that literally exert “mind included intestinal symbionts in early medical texts circa 1550 control” over their insect hosts (Thomas et al. 2002; Mongkolsamrit BCE (Egerton 2014), modern science has revealed that the biology et al. 2012). Even familiar and well-publicized symbioses like the of symbionts and hosts are often far more intimately entwined than relationships between plants and their pollinators, the influences of 43 44 Freshwater Crayfish Volume 22, Number 1 mycorrhizal symbioses, and the interdependence between corals thought to occur because branchiobdellidans clean crayfish body and their endosymbiotic dinoflagellates have proven to be far surfaces, particularly the gills, through their feeding behaviors, more complicated and varied than previously thought (Rodriguez- but can shift to direct consumption of host gill tissue when Lanetty et al. 2006; Karst et al. 2008; Carstensen et al. 2016). resources are limited (Brown et al. 2002; Brown et al. 2012). Recent work even suggests that our own evolutionary history, The relationship is context-dependent and can shift between current health, and survival as a species are intimately related to mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism based on a variety our microbial symbionts (Backhed et al. 2005; Yatsunenko et al. of factors including symbiont density (Brown et al. 2012), host 2012; Le Chatelier et al. 2013; Moeller et al. 2014). ontogeny (Thomas et al. 2016), and environmental conditions (Lee et al. 2009). Both host and symbiont can exert some influence One relatively recently discovered type of host-symbiont over the relationship, with hosts using grooming to remove excess interaction is the influence of symbionts on host gene expression. branchiobdellidans (Farrell et al. 2014; Skelton et al. 2014; Skelton These effects have been documented in a wide range of host- et al. 2016), and the branchiobdellidans showing evidence of host symbiont interactions, including bacteria and protozoans (Choi et choice (Brown and Creed 2004) and selective dispersal to optimize al. 1997), plants and mycorrhizal fungi (Zouari et al. 2014), and their own fitness (Skelton et al. 2015). bacteria that produce bioluminescence in several species of marine invertebrates (Almada and Tarrant 2016). We call these types of To examine the influence of branchiobdellidan symbionts interactions “recently discovered” because, even though they on host immune function, we conducted an experiment in which have been suspected for some time, only recently has technology we manipulated branchiobdellidan density on crayfish hosts, and allowed a thorough investigation of gene expression in real time. measured the expression of 3 candidate immune genes in the host To date, the majority of described cases in which symbionts affect crayfish during a 6-day experiment. In this experiment, we created the gene expression of hosts is through the symbiont directly conditions in which there was relatively high potential for microbial interacting with host physiology, for example, the influence of gill fouling of crayfish, a phenomenon that can be harmful or even Wolbachia on wasp hosts (Kremer et al. 2012), bacterial influence lethal to crustaceans (Bauer 1998), but in crayfish this fouling can over plant flowering (Lutay et al. 2016), arbuscular mycorrhizal be ameliorated to some degree by branchiobdellidans (Lee et al. fungi affecting immune defense of grapes against nematodes (Li et 2009). We also used a fairly high density of branchiobdellidans al. 2006), or the protozoan Trypanasoma promoting susceptibility as our experimental treatment so that significant gill damage to to transmission in mammals by altering expression in several the host was also a possibility (Brown et al. 2012). We therefore host pathways (Garcia-Silva et al. 2014). These previous studies had two competing working hypotheses regarding the effect of of symbiont effects on host gene expression mostly involve branchiobdellidans on host gene expression. 1) That we would endosymbionts, usually bacteria or fungi, that affect host gene measure decreased expression of immune-related genes in the expression through direct interactions with host physiology. branchiobdellidan treatments relative to the controls because the However, it is also probable that some types of symbionts can worms were alleviating gill fouling by cleaning. 2) That we would indirectly affect gene expression of their hosts by changing measure up-regulation of immune associated genes in response to the interaction between the host and environment. One type tissue damage caused by branchiobdellidans at fairly high densities. of symbiotic interaction in which these types of indirect effects Both of these hypotheses are compared to a null hypothesis of no might be expected are cleaning symbioses in which ectosymbionts effect of branchiobdellidans on host gene expression. remove parasites or foreign material from hosts, providing a beneficial cleaning service (Limbaugh 1961; Grutter et al. 2002). METHODS In these types of interactions, cleaners rarely interact with hosts in Laboratory Experiment such a way that host physiology is directly affected, but cleaners We conducted a 6-day aquarium experiment in June of can change the way that hosts interact with their environments, 2010 in which we manipulated branchiobdellidan density on 24 and thus could be expected to alter expression of host genes that host crayfish. The presence or absence of branchiobdellidans control a host’s interaction with their environment. was the only treatment in the experiment. We manipulated We investigated the potential
Recommended publications
  • New River Crayfish Range Wide Status Assessment
    New River Crayfish Range Wide Status Assessment William T. Russ, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Division of Inland Fisheries, 645 Fish Hatchery Road, Marion, NC 28752 Zach J. Loughman, West Liberty University, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Campus Service Center Box 139, West Liberty University, West Liberty, WV 26074 Roger F. Thoma, Midwest Biodiversity Institute, Inc., 4673 Northwest Parkway, Hilliard, OH 43026 Brian T. Watson, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 1132 Thomas Jefferson Road, Forest, VA 24551 Todd D. Ewing, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Division of Inland Fisheries, 1721 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 Abstract: The New River crayfish, (Cambarus chasmodactylus), was described in 1966 from the East Fork of the Greenbrier River, West Virginia, and historically occurred throughout the New River Basin from the Greenbrier River sub-basin in West Virginia, upstream through Virginia, and into the headwaters of the South Fork New River in North Carolina. The New River crayfish was part of a federal listing species petition in 2010 and it is cur- rently being evaluated for listing as either threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act. In order to understand the current distribution and status of this species, a range-wide assessment was undertaken by various organizations and agencies in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. Biological information was summarized, including species description, habitat use, life history, and current distribution. All historical and recent collections were compared and spatially displayed using GIS software. The New River crayfish was collected in three 8-digit hydrologic unit codes (HUCs) and 14 counties in three states, with the majority of occurrences in the Upper New and Greenbrier River sub-basins.
    [Show full text]
  • The Crayfishes of West Virginia's Southwestern Coalfields Region
    Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 1-1-2013 The rC ayfishes of West Virginia’s Southwestern Coalfields Region with an Emphasis on the Life History of Cambarus theepiensis David Allen Foltz II Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/etd Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Foltz, David Allen II, "The rC ayfishes of West Virginia’s Southwestern Coalfields Region with an Emphasis on the Life History of Cambarus theepiensis" (2013). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. Paper 731. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Crayfishes of West Virginia’s Southwestern Coalfields Region with an Emphasis on the Life History of Cambarus theepiensis A Thesis submitted to the Graduate College of Marshall University Huntington, WV In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Biological Sciences: Watershed Resource Science Prepared by David Allen Foltz II Approved by Committee Members: Zachary Loughman, Ph.D., Major Advisor David Mallory, Ph.D., Committee Member Mindy Armstead, Ph.D., Committee Member Thomas Jones, Ph.D., Committee Member Thomas Pauley, Ph.D., Committee Member Marshall University Defended 11/13/2013 Final Submission to the Graduate College December 2013 ©2013 David Allen Foltz II ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii AKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my gratitude to my committee members.
    [Show full text]
  • Board of Game and Inland Fisheries Meeting Agenda
    Revised Board of Game and Inland Fisheries 4000 West Broad Street, Board Room Richmond, Virginia 23230 August 14, 2012 9:00am Call to order and welcome, reading of the Mission Statement and Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 1. Recognition of Employees and Others 2. Public Comments – Department plan to build a new headquarters under PPEA 3. Public Comments – Non-Agenda Items 4. Approval of July 10, 2012 Board Meeting Minutes 5. Committee Meeting Reports: Wildlife, Boat and Law Enforcement Committee: Mr. Turner, Chairman of the Wildlife, Boat and Law Enforcement Committee, will report on the activities of the August 7, 2012 Committee Meeting. The Committee will recommend the following items to the full Board for final action: Staff Recommendations – Fisheries Regulation Amendments Staff Recommendations – Diversity Regulation Amendments Staff Recommendations – Boating Regulation Amendments Staff Recommendations – 2012-2013 Migratory Waterfowl Seasons and Bag Limits Staff Recommendations – ADA Regulation Agency Land Use Plan Proposed CY2013 Board Meeting Schedule Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee: Mr. Colgate, Chairman of the Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee, will report on the activities of the July 25, 2012 Committee Meeting. The Committee will present the following reports: FY2012 Year-end Financial Summary Internal Audit FY2013 Work Plan - Final Action Education, Planning and Outreach Committee: Ms. Caruso, Chairwoman of the Education, Planning, and Outreach Committee Meeting. Ms. Caruso will announce the next Committee Meeting will be held on October 17, 2012 beginning at 10:00am. 6. Closed Session 7. Director's Report: 8. Chairman's Remarks 9. Additional Business/Comments 10. Next Meeting Date: October 18, 2012 beginning at 9:00am 11.
    [Show full text]
  • Tracking Invasive Animals with Electronic Tags to Assess Risks and Develop Management Strategies
    Biol Invasions (2016) 18:1219–1233 DOI 10.1007/s10530-016-1071-z PERPECTIVES AND PARADIGMS Tracking invasive animals with electronic tags to assess risks and develop management strategies Robert J. Lennox . Gabriel Blouin-Demers . Andrew M. Rous . Steven J. Cooke Received: 4 July 2015 / Accepted: 11 February 2016 / Published online: 20 February 2016 Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 Abstract Invasive species alter ecosystem structure Keywords Telemetry Á Tagging Á Electronic tag Á and function when they establish in new habitats. Monitoring Á Invasive animals Although preventing or managing invasions is extre- mely important for maintaining biodiversity, doing so is difficult and requires efficient intervention. Remote Introduction monitoring of free-living animals with electronic tags (i.e. tags that transmit data remotely or log them for Monitoring individual animals is fundamental to the future retrieval) can contribute important knowledge study of natural history, ecology, animal behaviour, about invasive animal biology. A quantitative litera- and physiological ecology (Cooke et al. 2004; Patter- ture review identified instances in which electronic son et al. 2008; Spicer and Gaston 2009). Observations tagging has contributed to studying invasions. Elec- provide information about physiological processes, tronic tags were generally used for one of four individuals, populations, and communities that are purposes: (1) characterize spatial ecology; (2) identify necessary for effective management and conservation. interactions; (3) assess risk potential; or (4) evaluate Time and space constrain the ability of biologists to management options. Overall, electronic tags have make direct observations on animals, but the devel- considerable potential for developing, refining, and opment of electronic tagging tools (i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservation
    CONSERVATION ecapod crustaceans in the families Astacidae, recreational and commercial bait fisheries, and serve as a Cambaridae, and Parastacidae, commonly known profitable and popular food resource. Crayfishes often make as crayfishes or crawfishes, are native inhabitants up a large proportion of the biomass produced in aquatic of freshwater ecosystems on every continent systems (Rabeni 1992; Griffith et al. 1994). In streams, sport except Africa and Antarctica. Although nearly worldwide fishes such as sunfishes and basses (family Centrarchidae) in distribution, crayfishes exhibit the highest diversity in may consume up to two-thirds of the annual production of North America north of Mexico with 338 recognized taxa crayfishes, and as such, crayfishes often comprise critical (308 species and 30 subspecies). Mirroring continental pat- food resources for these fishes (Probst et al. 1984; Roell and terns of freshwater fishes (Warren and Burr 1994) and fresh- Orth 1993). Crayfishes also contribute to the maintenance of water mussels (J. D. Williams et al. 1993), the southeastern food webs by processing vegetation and leaf litter (Huryn United States harbors the highest number of crayfish species. and Wallace 1987; Griffith et al. 1994), which increases avail- Crayfishes are a significant component of aquatic ecosys- ability of nutrients and organic matter to other organisms. tems. They facilitate important ecological processes, sustain In some rivers, bait fisheries for crayfishes constitute an Christopher A. Taylor and Melvin L. Warren, Jr. are cochairs of the Crayfish Subcommittee of the AFS Endangered Species Committee. They can be contacted at the Illinois Natural History Survey, Center for Biodiversity, 607 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, and U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Behavioral Responses of Two Appalachian Crayfish to Cool and Warm Spectrum Led Light at Night
    THE BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES OF TWO APPALACHIAN CRAYFISH TO COOL AND WARM SPECTRUM LED LIGHT AT NIGHT A Thesis by JUSTIN RYAN FISCHER Submitted to the Graduate School at Appalachian State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE December 2016 Department of Biology THE BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES OF TWO APPALACHIAN CRAYFISH TO COOL AND WARM SPECTRUM LED LIGHT AT NIGHT A Thesis By JUSTIN RYAN FISCHER December 2016 APPROVED BY: Michael Gangloff Co-chairperson, Thesis Committee Robert Creed Co-chairperson, Thesis Committee Lynn Siefferman Member, Thesis Committee Zack E. Murrell Chairperson, Department of Biology Max C. Poole, Ph.D. Dean, Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies Copyright by Justin Ryan Fischer 2016 All Rights Reserved Abstract THE BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES OF TWO APPALACHIAN CRAYFISH TO COOL AND WARM SPECTRUM LED LIGHT AT NIGHT Justin Ryan Fischer B.S., University of North Texas M.S., Appalachian State University Co-chairpersons: Michael Gangloff and Robert Creed Ecological light pollution is increasing worldwide, and the use of artificial lighting is expected to increase during the coming decades. The threats posed by light pollution to freshwater ecosystems are not well-studied. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are currently the preferred luminaire technology and have largely replaced incandescent, fluorescent and high- intensity discharge lights across much of the developed world. Two different types of LEDs are in widespread use. Cool-spectrum LEDs are characterized by shorter wavelength cool- hued light whereas warm-spectrum LEDs are characterized by longer wavelength, warm- hued lights. It is not clear how the different spectral emissions produced by these two LED categories will affect freshwater animals.
    [Show full text]
  • Fisheries Conservation Status of Crayfish Species Paddlefish Conservation Case Study
    VOL 32 NO 8 AUGUST 2007 Fish News Legislative Update Journal Highlights FisheriesFisheries Calendar American Fisheries Society • www.fisheries.org Job Center Conservation Status of Crayfish Species Paddlefish Conservation Case Study Fisheries • VOL 32 NO 8 • AUGUST 2007 • WWW.FISHERIES.ORG 365 Northwest Marine Tcchnology, Inc. 366 Fisheries • VOL 32 NO 8 • AUGUST 2007 • WWW.FISHERIES.ORG VOL 32 NO 8 AUGUST 2007 372 AMERIFisheriescan FIshERIES SOCIETY • WWW.FIshERIES.ORG EDitOriaL / SUbsCriPtiON / CirCULatiON OffiCES 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110 • Bethesda, MD 20814-2199 301/897-8616 • fax 301/897-8096 • [email protected] The American Fisheries Society (AFS), founded in 1870, is the oldest and largest professional society representing fisheries scientists. The AFS promotes scientific research and enlightened management of aquatic resources 390 for optimum use and enjoyment by the public. It also XXX encourages comprehensive education of fisheries scientists and continuing on-the-job training. AFS OFFICERS FISHERIES EDITORS Contents STAFF PRESIDENT SENIOR EDITOR SCIENCE Jennifer L. Nielsen Ghassan “Gus” N. EDITORS COLUMN: COLUMN: PRESIDENT ElECT Rassam Madeleine 368 PRESIDENT’S HOOK 398 GUEST DIRECTOR’S LINE Mary C. Fabrizio DIRECTOR OF Hall-Arber New Features for AFS Publications FIRST PUBLICATIONS Ken Ashley Thanks for an Incredible Year VICE PRESIDENT Aaron Lerner Doug Beard As part of an ongoing effort to make AFS William G. Franzin MANAGING Ken Currens Through commitment and hardwork the AFS publications more and more useful for fisheries SECOND EDITOR William E. Kelso volunteer membership has accomplished professionals, several new features have been VICE PRESIDENT Beth Beard Deirdre M. Kimball Donald C. Jackson PRODUCTION Robert T.
    [Show full text]
  • ZACHARY J. LOUGHMAN, Ph.D
    ZACHARY J. LOUGHMAN, Ph.D. Curriculum Vitae 6 Oak Drive Circle, Wheeling WV, 26003 Tel: 304-231-7033 (Cell) Tel: (304) 905-8569 (Home) Email: [email protected] CURRENT POSITION Assistant Professor of Biology (Zoology and Ecology) Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics West Liberty University EDUCATION PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Indiana State University, Terre Haute IN, Graduated summa cum laude Advisor: Dr. John Whitaker Dissertation Topic: Ecology, Conservation, and Taxonomy of West Virginia’s Crayfishes Master of Science in Biology Marshall University, Huntington WV, December 2005 Graduated summa cum laude and “with excellence”. Advisor: Dr. Thomas Pauley Thesis: Analysis of Amphibian and Reptile Communities on a Reclaimed Mine Land in Southern West Virginia Bachelor of Science: Major: Biological Sciences; Minor: Geography West Liberty State College, West Liberty, WV. May 2002 Graduated with a 3.0 GPA Advisor: Willis “Bob” Gordon, M.S. Undergraduate Project: Ecology of the Northern Water Snake (Nerodia s. sipedon) in Northern West Virginia PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS / ORAL PRESENTATIONS Loughman, Z. J. Life History of Cambarus chasmodactylus (New River Crayfish) in Anthony Creek, West Virginia. 2014. Association of Southeastern Biologists Meeting, Spartansburg, South Carolina. Loughman, Z. J. Crayfish of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 2014. Discover Life in America Annual conference, Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Loughman, Z. J. West Virginia’s Invasive Crayfishes. 2013. West Virginia Invasive Species. West Virginia Invasive Species Working Group. West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, West Virginia. Loughman, Z. J. Should I Stay or Should I go? Determining the movement patterns of male New River crayfish through use of telemetry. 2013. West Virginia Academy of Sciences Meeting, Canaan Valley Institute and Association of Southeastern Biologists Meeting, Charleston, West Virginia.
    [Show full text]
  • Southeastern Biology
    SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGY Volume 61 July, 2014 Number 3 ASB 75th Annual Meeting April 2-5, 2014 ASB ASB Converse College Spartanburg Community College ASB Spartanburg Methodist College ASB University of South Carolina Upstate Wofford College ASB Spartanburg, South Carolina ASB Abstracts of Papers and Posters Phifer Science Hall at Converse College ASB Home to the Departments of Biology and Chemistry ASB The Official Publication of The Association ofSoutheastern Biologists, Inc. http : //www. sebiologists.org SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGY (ISSN 1533-8436) SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGY (ISSN 1 533-8436) is published online quarterly in January, April, July, and October by the Association of Southeastern Biologists, Inc., P.O. Box 276, Elon, NC 27244-0276. Please send address changes to the SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGY business manager, Tim Atkinson, Assoc, of SEB, P.O. Box 276, Elon, NC 27244-0276. All contributions, inquiries about missing back numbers and other matters should be addressed to the Journal Editor. News items should be sent to the News Editor. Send books to be reviewed to the Book Review Editor. Journal Editor James D. Caponetti, Division of Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-0830; 974-6841 Fax 974-4057; [email protected]. (865) ; (865) Associate Editor Sarah Noble, P.O. Box 640, Mobile, Alabama, 36601; (251) 295-4267; [email protected] . Web Editor Ashley B, Morris, Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 494-7621 . 37132; (61 5) ; [email protected] News Editor Riccardo Fiorillo, School of Science and Technology, Georgia Gwinnett College, 1000 University Center Lane, Lawrenceville, GA 30043; (678) 464-9918; [email protected] .
    [Show full text]
  • (Puncticambarus) Smilax, the Greenbrier Crayfish Paul William Hughes [email protected]
    Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 2014 The aN tural Life History of Cambarus (Puncticambarus) smilax, The Greenbrier Crayfish Paul William Hughes [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/etd Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Hughes, Paul William, "The aN tural Life History of Cambarus (Puncticambarus) smilax, The Greenbrier Crayfish" (2014). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. Paper 896. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE NATURAL LIFE HISTORY OF CAMBARUS (PUNCTICAMBARUS) SMILAX, (THE GREENBRIER CRAYFISH) A thesis submitted to the Graduate College of Marshall University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biological Sciences by Paul William Hughes Approved by Dr. Thomas G. Jones, Committee Chair Dr. Charles Somerville, Biology Department Advisor Dr. Zachary J. Loughman, Committee Member Dr. Shane Welch, Committee Member Marshall University December 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my advisor and primary professor Dr. Thomas G. Jones. I feel lucky to have a professor like Dr. Jones help me through grad school and beyond. Dr. Jones is truly one of the greatest teachers I have ever had. He has exposed me to another level of the ecological world that I didn’t know existed. As one of Dr. Jones’s students, I have traveled and worked in ten states and one foreign country.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards an Understanding of Symbiont Natural History Through Studies Of
    Towards an understanding of symbiont natural history through studies of crayfish and their annelid associates James Skelton Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences Bryan L. Brown E. Fred Benfield Lisa K. Belden Robert P. Creed 27 February 2015 Blacksburg, VA Keywords: Symbiosis, Branchiobdellida, community ecology, parasite ecology, mutualism, Cambarus, transmission Copyright James Skelton, 2015 Towards an understanding of symbiont natural history through studies of crayfish and their annelid associates James Skelton Abstract Crayfish throughout North America, Europe, and Asia host assemblages of obligate ectosymbiotic annelid worms called branchiobdellidans. The work presented here is a detailed experimental and observational study of the ecological interactions between crayfish and their worms. In a comprehensive literature review, I show that branchiobdellidans have complex and context-dependent effects on their hosts, serving as both beneficial cleaners and tissue- consuming parasites. Using a field survey and laboratory experiments, I provide novel evidence for age-specific resistance as an adaptation to maximize life-long benefits of a mutualism. Specifically, I show that Cambarus crayfish display a consistent ontogenetic shift in resistance to the colonization of branchiobdellidans and this shift likely reflects underlying changes in the costs and benefits of symbiosis. I then show that this change in host resistance creates predictable patterns of symbiont diversity and composition throughout host ontogeny. Host resistance limits within-host symbiont communities to a few weakly interacting species, whereas relaxed resistance leads to more diverse symbiont communities that have strong interactions among symbiont taxa.
    [Show full text]
  • Native and Invasive Freshwater Decapods in the UK: Conservation and Impacts
    Native and Invasive Freshwater Decapods in the UK: Conservation and Impacts Paula Joy Rosewarne Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Biology September 2013 ii The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own, except where work which has formed part of jointly authored publications has been included. The contribution of the candidate and the other authors to this work has been explicitly indicated below. The candidate confirms that appropriate credit has been given within the thesis where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement © 2013 The University of Leeds and Paula Rosewarne iii Chapter Four is based on a jointly authored publication: Rosewarne, P.J., Mortimer, R.J.G. & Dunn, A. M. (2013) Size-dependent impacts of the endangered white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) (Lereboullet) on the littoral community, Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems, 409, 06, p.1-10 P. Rosewarne formulated the idea, conducted the experiment, analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. A. Dunn and R. Mortimer supervised the research and contributed to writing the manuscript. Chapter Five is based on a jointly authored publication: Rosewarne, P., Mortimer, R. & Dunn, A. (2012) Branchiobdellidan infestation on endangered white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) in the UK. Parasitology, 139, p.774-780. P. Rosewarne collected the data, analysed the data and co-wrote the manuscript. A. Dunn formulated the idea, provided research supervision, advised on data analysis and co-wrote the manuscript.
    [Show full text]